RIVER OWENMORE FISHERIES.

I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he is aware that a number of fishermen of Brandon and Castle Gregory have been prosecuted by the Limerick Board of Fishery Conservators, and fined in sums varying from £5 to 2s. 6d., for fishing at the mouth of the River Owenmore; is he further aware that the question of the limits within which fishing is forbidden on this river is now in dispute, and that an inquiry into the matter by the Fishery Commissioners is being made; and whether, in view of the uncertainty at present existing as to the public rights of fishing in the river, the fines imposed will be remitted; and whether, in view of the fact that the district in question is one of those scheduled as a seaboard congested district, it would be possible to lessen the restrictions upon the fishing industry so as to permit of the better employment of the people?

I am informed that the prosecutions referred to have taken place. The inquiry in regard to the River Owen-more has been fixed by the Inspectors of Fisheries for the 16th instant, when,
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no doubt, all the circumstances will receive careful consideration.